Camily Wedende shows Tanya Cothran and Dennis Kiprop how to use the WAPI.

Spirit in Action was founded in 1996. We believe in a holistic approach to empowerment as we work to serve and support each other. To that extent, the Spirit in Action network nurtures soul, heart, mind and body in a variety of ways, including:

Prayer

Correspondence

Encouragement and Sharing

Research and Information

Spiritual Readings

Seed Packets

Self-help Projects

Micro-grants for Families through Local Coordinators

Community Grants

Business and Communications Training

Spirit in Action is unique in that we do not have a set program that we seek to promote. We make every effort to respond to the specific needs and requests of the people with whom we correspond. We seek to understand their true guidance and desires, and to prayerfully respond as God guides.

August 2011: Spirit in Action visits Sun Cookers International in Eldoret Kenya . Boyd Cothran (Spirit in Action Board member) and Tanya Cothran (SIA Executive Administrator) recently visited the storefront of Sun Cookers International. Camily Wedende gave us a presentation, using his on-site chalkboard, about how to use WAPI s to know when water is pasteurized and safe to drink. People gathered around us to watch the presentation and ask questions about the cookers. Wedende’s business is to construct and sell solar cookers, and to train people about their value. He sells cookers to local colleges, churches and individuals. While visiting, we also had the chance to review Wedende’s marketing strategy and give him tips about how to increase public awareness about solar cookers. Please watch our photo essay about our visit.

April 2010:Camily Wedende, in Eldoret, Kenya provides an update on his project to use the power of the sun to fulfill the needs of refugees. Solar cookers provide a good way to cook nutritious food in a smoke-free environment while also reducing the risks and burdens that women face when they have to walk miles to collect fuel for cooking fires. Wedende teaches people to use solar cookers to cook their daily meals and also pasteurize water. “Many families are interested in learning and using solar cookers, and most of the trainings are in the refugee camps where life is hard, where a piece of firewood cannot be found and where water is highly contaminated.” Since January, his organization Sun Cookers International has sold five cookers.

February 2009: Solar Cooking is expanding in Eldoret, Kenya with the support of Spirit in Action! Camily Wedende received a grant from Spirit in Action in June 2008 to train community members and refugees how to use and build solar cookers. Camily reports “We are in the world of solar!”. He has trained over 50 families in refugee camps and over 100 people total. People receive training on how to build light weight wooden cookers using plywood, glass, aluminum foil, wood shavings and black paint. Typical food cooked in the solar cooker are rice, bananas, eggs, tea, bean and meat. Cookers are also used for pasteurizing water. Camily is very positive about the changes he sees when people learn about solar cooking and is committed to spreading the word in his community. For Camily, “SOLAR COOKERS WORK – SEEING IS BELIEVING.”

November 2008:Camily Wedende, of Eldoret, Kenya, received a Spirit in Action grant to train people in refugee camps to use and build solar cookers and now he reports that about 50 people have been trained how make cookers and pasteurize water using WAPIs (water pasteurization indicators). Also, 10 families from the refugee camp have received training.

November 2007: Camily Wedende received a grant from Spirit in Action in support of his solar cooker shop. Wedende builds and sells durable plywood solar box cookers, and stocks various solar cooking supplies such as pots and instruction manuals in his shop. He also conducts solar cooking demonstrations and gives out samples.